KBM Group acquires I-Behavior to boost WPP agency data

Integrated agency KBM Group agreed to acquire database company I-Behavior on November 10 for an undisclosed amount. The deal requires regulatory and shareholder approval.

“We have admired I-Behavior for quite some time because its business focus is in the multichannel space, where KBM has played relatively lightly because our focus has been in other sectors,” said Gary Laben, CEO of KBM Group, which operates under WPP's Wunderman.

I-Behavior's cooperative database includes 8 billion SKU-level transactions from its multichannel clients. The company will retain its brand, and its data will be used across the WPP network of creative and media agencies to optimize each firm's offerings, Laben said. It will also use data to better inform creative and online behavioral targeting, he said.

KBM will retain I-Behavior's management team, which will report to Laben.

“We're thrilled to be able to amortize the value of this company across many parts of WPP, including Wunderman, where we expect the richness of the data to help drive and inform creative and all other aspects of communications,” said Laben.